Chapter 8

 

At the hospital, we parked my green Subaru and hurried in the front doors. I didn’t know where to go. No one was manning the information desk. What kind of hospital is this? I stood there uncertainly for a minute, then I saw Denise down the hallway to the left, walking toward us along with a priest. I hurried to meet them.

Her eyes were shadowed and tired, but not reddened as if she’d been crying. I took it as a good sign. A slightly more matronly version of Jen, with shoulder length curly hair and dark brown eyes, she held out her arms to me. I hugged her.

“Oh, Ally, I’m so glad you’re here. I know Jen will be too.” She looked past me to Matt questioningly.

“Denise, this is my friend Matt Blake.”

They murmured a ‘nice to meet you,’ and Denise turned back to me. “And this is Father Patrick.” She indicated the priest with a wave of her hand. “He’s been here to give Jen last rites.”

I felt a shock run through my body at the words. “Last rites? Is she?” I swallowed, not wanting to say the words.

“No, no,” Father Patrick replied. “Like the phoenix, she has risen. The doctors are quite confident she will be just fine now. Anyway, we don’t really call it last rites anymore. It’s the sacrament of the sick and includes the laying on of hands. Many feel it aids in the healing process when recovering from an illness or accident.”

“Excuse me for just a moment,” Denise said. “I’ve been with Jen for the last couple hours, I just need to powder my nose.”

“Of course,” I replied.

As Denise walked around us, the priest stepped forward. “Have you ever visited someone in a burn unit?”

“Burn unit?” I echoed.

“Yes. You weren’t told?” Father Patrick asked gently.

I shook my head.

“She was burned rather badly in the accident. In fact, her respiration and heartbeat stopped for several minutes at the scene, but the paramedics were able to administer CPR. She rallied beautifully.”

“So... she died?” I asked, taken aback.

“Technically, yes, but there were no monitors to record brain activity.” He took my hand in both of his. “Rest assured, she is speaking clearly, though she’s tired and on morphine. She is perfectly aware of who she is, where she is, and what day it is. There doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage in that direction. Only time will tell about the rest.”

I took a deep, shaky breath in and exhaled slowly. This was all my fault.

The priest looked from me to Matt and back. “They are limiting visitors to her due to the danger of infection, so I’m afraid your friend won’t be able to go in with you.”

“I understand,” I replied, as Matt murmured, “No problem.”

“There’s a waiting room just outside the burn unit.” He paused for a moment, seeming to choose his words carefully. “You will see she is swathed in bandages. The morphine makes her somewhat comfortable. As I said, she is burned rather badly. There will be a long road to recovery, from my experiences ministering to other burn victims. Still, there is every reason to have hope. The most important thing is to help Jen maintain her hope.”

I nodded, swallowing hard as I pictured her covered in bandages. I thought of my own bandages being removed with only a faint scar this morning. What could I do for her? And how, with so many people around? Miracles tended not to go unnoticed.

Denise re-joined us. “Ready to go up?” she asked me with false cheer.

“Sure,” I replied, though I was more than a little nervous about what I would see.

She looked at Matt. “I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to go in.”

“I understand. I’ll just cool my heels in the waiting room. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to meet Jen yet. Ally has spoken very fondly of her. I’ll look forward to meeting her in the future.”

Denise studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Good.”

“I’ll say goodbye for now,” Father Patrick said, giving Denise a hug. “I will keep you all in my prayers, and I will be back to check in on her regularly. Please, don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do.”

“Thank you, Father,” Denise replied.

He left, and we headed for the elevator.

“So, what happened?” I asked Denise hesitantly.

“Well, we’re not entirely sure,” she said, stabbing the elevator button viciously. “She was headed back to work from the bar and grille you two like.”

“McGinty’s?”

“Yes.”

Crap, crap, crap. If I’d just called her and let her know I wouldn’t be there, she would never have gone. Matt gave my arm a squeeze, perhaps sensing my agitation. The elevator arrived, and we moved inside.

“The police implied she had a bit too much to drink and was driving too fast for the road conditions. Well, you know Jen, she always drives too fast, doesn’t leave enough room between her and the car in front of her. Still, she says she only had one glass of wine, and she hadn’t even drunk most of it. They took blood for tests. I suppose they’ll do a tox screen so that should be answered, not that I care. Life will change for her, but she’s alive to live it. That’s all I care about right now.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

“What does she say happened?” I asked.

We stepped off the elevator, and Denise stopped. “She said, it was as if an invisible hand swiped her car off the road and spun it into the tree.” She shrugged. “She didn’t actually break anything, but she was trapped in the car with it burning.” She pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes filled with tears.

My own tears welled up in sympathy as I put a hand on her arm. She wrapped her arms around herself, took in a shuddering breath, and let it out slowly as she stared up at the ceiling. “Thankfully, she wasn’t actually awake for most of it. She wasn’t…” Again, Denise had to pause and take another breath before continuing, “…wasn’t breathing when they pulled her out, but they managed to revive her. Everything seems fine except for the burns.”

We were silent for a moment or two, then Denise looked at Matt and gestured down the hallway to the left, “You can wait down here. There’s only an hour left for visiting anyway, so we’d better get in there.” She studied me, puzzled. “She was adamant about seeing you, wouldn’t rest until I promised to call you.”

Denise led me down the hallway to a door. She pressed the button to the side, and we were buzzed in.

The young nurse staffing the reception desk smiled in greeting. “Hello, Mrs. G. Is this the friend you were hoping would visit?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” She put a clipboard in front of me with a list of instructions and a place for me to sign at the bottom. “When you visit, you’ll sign in to the right here. Don’t worry, you’ll only go through these instructions once.”

She read down the list with me, then walked with us down to the scrub area. “You’ll stop here and push your sleeves up, scrub all the way up to the elbows very thoroughly. We ask you not to visit if you have any sign of a virus. You can pick up a set of scrubs to go over your clothes here, as well as a mask.” She indicated a cupboard. “There are lockers in this room here where you can leave personal belongings. Lock it up and take the key with you, just make sure to leave it in the lock when you retrieve your belongings and leave for the day.” She spoke cheerfully. “I know that’s a lot to throw at you when you’re concerned about your loved one, so don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.”

“Thanks,” I replied softly.

“Get changed, and I’ll take you in to see her.”

We scrubbed up, following the directions about using soap, hot water, and the duration, then put scrubs on and went back into the hallway where the nurse waited.

“Okay, here we go.”

She led us down the hall to a room. “The rooms are on the small side, but that lets us give each patient their privacy and limit contact with possible contaminants by limiting their contact with people visiting other patients.”

When we walked in, we saw a form with white bandages lying on the bed, partially covered with a thin blanket, as if she’d been wrapped to play a mummy at Halloween. The right side of her face and jaw lay bare, her eye closed. “She passed out in the car with her head down and to the right, which protected that side of her face,” Denise said.

“Hey, sweetie, are you awake?” the nurse asked. “Your friend Ally is here.”

The uncovered eye fluttered open. “Ally?” she mumbled.

“Hey, Jen, I’m here,” I said, moving closer to the bed.

She started to shift in the bed then winced.

“How’s your pain level, sweetie, on a scale of one to ten?” the nurse asked.

“I’m okay,” Jen replied, her lips barely moving. “Maybe a two or three.”

“Okay, I’m gonna let you folks visit. Let me know if you need anything, sweetie. Just use your call button.”

The nurse left, and Jen looked at her mom. “Can I talk to Ally alone for a minute?”

“Well, sure, honey. I’ll just be in the hallway.”

“I’m so sorry, Jen,” I whispered as I started to cry. “I should have called, then you wouldn’t have been there.”

“Oh, stop it,” Jen rasped with quiet vehemence. “We don’t have much time, and I need to tell you what I saw. If I told anyone else, they’d think I was drunk, or I’d bumped my head or inhaled too much smoke.” She stared straight into my eyes with her one uncovered eye. “I know what I saw. It was a demon.”

I stared at her in shock. With what I’d learned recently, I couldn’t rule it out, but what if she was suffering from a concussion or something, and I didn’t tell anyone? She could need pressure relieved on her brain or something. Shit.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said wearily. “He was big and red and had horns. I hit him. He didn’t even blink, just reached out, grabbed my car, and sent it spinning into the trees. I don’t know what’s going on around here, something is not right.”

“Okay.” I knew that much to be true.

“The other thing is, you know I died for a few minutes, right?”

“Yeah, the priest told us.”

The ghost of a smile hovered around her lips. “Father Patrick, he’s a nice guy, he means well, but I haven’t decided how much I can tell him yet. Okay, I saw the tunnel and the white light, just like they talk about, but there was something more. A message for you.”

I felt my eyebrows raise.

“There was an angel. He said, ‘Tell her she must choose carefully who to work with and trust. Though she is no longer with us, still we are with her always.’”

“How did you know he was an angel? And how do you know he meant me?”

“Who else do you know, besides angels, that have wings?”

Griffins. A Pegasus? My lips twitched as I scrutinized the floor.

“Oh, stop it,” Jen mumbled. “I’m too tired for this. And, well, it was as much a feeling as a thought that the message was for you.”

I frowned contritely. “I’m sorry. Of course I believe you, and I’ll remember what you said.”

Jen blinked once, slowly. “Just be careful out there. There’s something going on. I almost feel safer in here, even with what they’re about to start doing to the burns.”

I wanted to hug her so badly, but I didn’t know where to touch her.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m just tired right now. We better let Mom come back in for a few minutes before visiting time ends.”

“Right.” I went out to the hall. “Denise, she wants you to come back in now.”

It wasn’t long before they came to kick us out. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” I said.

“Sounds good,” Jen replied. Her lips barely moved, and her eyes had already closed.

I took one last long look at my friend. I couldn’t help feeling responsible. If what she said was correct and not something she had hallucinated, some kind of supernatural creature had gone after her. I didn’t know if it had followed her from my house, somehow smelled my scent on her, or was a sentient being. Did it know who and what I was, and that she was my friend? I had a feeling it had come here, to this town, because of me. I’d be very grateful if anyone could prove me wrong.

There lay my best friend, hurt because of me, badly burned. She would likely never be the same, though it appeared she would survive. I prayed the priest was right, and she would thrive too. I hoped I would survive to see it.

Denise leaned over her and kissed the area of Jen’s skin not bandaged on her face. I leaned over to do the same. As I did, I closed my eyes for a moment, picturing healing golden light coming from within me and passing into Jen. I felt the little shock as I kissed her cheek. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could give her at the moment, both because I didn’t want to draw attention to what I was and also because I didn’t have much to give in my own weakened state. Jen’s eyes opened. She sighed, then her eyes closed again. If I could give her just a little bit every time I visited, I could speed her healing and ensure success without it being called a miracle. It was a plan, and I felt better for having one.

We left the room, wrapped in our own thoughts as we walked down the hallway and joined a small contingent of a half dozen people stripping off their scrubs. A middle-aged, African American gentleman with a small mustache caught my eye and gave me a look of commiseration. “They’re really good here,” he said in a deep voice. “My son’s been here for three months, they’ve made amazing progress with him. We’re halfway to taking him home.”

His wife nodded in agreement and summoned a smile. She seemed bone weary.

I returned her look as I cringed inside. Three months and only halfway through the treatments he would need. Would it take that long for Jen? Not if I could help it.

We all filed out, and I gave Denise a hug before I went to find Matt in the waiting room. He was the only one there. His head came up, and that beautiful smile crossed his face. It made me catch my breath every time I saw it. I was grateful to have him here.

He joined me at the door. Standing close, he smoothed a lock of hair out of my eyes, the rough texture of his hand speaking to his work with animals and the outdoors. I loved the feel of it against my skin.

“How is she?” he asked.

“Wrapped up like a mummy, but she’s in good spirits. She told me something interesting.”

“How so?” Matt asked.

A couple nurses passed us in the hallway.

“Not here,” I replied, inclining my head in the direction of the nurses. “Let’s head home.” I turned to walk down the hallway. He fell into step beside me. It felt so natural to have him with me, so close, yet at the same time, odd.

It was nice to finally have someone to trust who I could tell who and what I really was. I trusted him more than I had anyone in my life since my father. Words echoed in my head, Tell her to choose carefully who to work with, and a tiny shadow of doubt crept into my brain. Who had they been referring to? I studied Matt. Should I be telling him this stuff? I had assumed the message Jen gave me was to trust him, but what if it wasn’t? It might not have been an angel giving Jen the message at all. She could have imagined it, or it could have been a demon. Shit.

I glanced over at Matt again, his face a pleasant mask. Was he just trying to gain my trust for some purpose of his own? I didn’t really know him. I had no idea if he really came from New Zealand or was even a veterinarian. He could have given false credentials to get the job. Hell, he could even be one of the demons that had been sent to lead people astray. I walked a little further away from him, putting a few more inches between us.

His hand slipped into mine, holding me in a firm yet gentle grip. A feeling of peace and warmth flowed through me. He looked over and gave me a crooked smile. “You’d know if I was evil.”

Damn his green eyes. I suddenly felt very warm, in more ways than one.

We walked back out to the car hand in hand, and Matt offered to drive once again. Emotionally and physically exhausted, I readily acquiesced. I handed over the keys, settled into the passenger seat, then turned on the seat warmer.